Background: Dysmenorrhea is defined as cramping pain in the lower abdomen occurring just before or during menstruation. Primary dysmenorrhea is responsible for significant loss of class/ work attendance. Many studies have also reported that self-medication is common among female students. Hence this study was undertaken to assess the scenario in medical, nursing, and paramedical female students. Aims and Objectives: We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and assess its associated symptoms, loss of class attendance, and the treatment pattern among female students pursuing medical, nursing, and paramedical courses. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on the female students pursuing medical, nursing, and paramedical courses at a university in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and analyzed using SPSS version 24 (IBM, Chicago, USA). Result: A total of 786 female students participated in the study. A high prevalence (77%) of dysmenorrhea was reported. Of the students with dysmenorrhea, only 41 sought medical help while 269 self-medicated for the pain; the most consumed painkiller was found to be Mefenamic acid+ Dicyclomine HCL. The family history (X2 = 17.2, P-value <0.001) and academic performance (X2 =80.8, P-value<0.001) were significantly associated with dysmenorrhea. Conclusion: The findings of this research establish dysmenorrhea as a serious public health problem. It contributes to absenteeism and impairs everyday tasks, resulting in low academic achievement. Due to the widespread availability of over-the-counter medications, only few women seek medical counsel.
Background & Objective:Assessing the undergraduate medical students' knowledge regarding COVID-19 to determine any gaps in their learning and any misinformation is essential. This study aimed to access the awareness regarding COVID-19 and related myths among undergraduate medical students. Materials & Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted on undergraduate medical students in a tertiary healthcare teaching institute in a district of central Uttar Pradesh. Unpaired t-test and one-way ANOVA were applied to determine any differences among the mean scores of awareness and myths among gender and batch years. We used boxplots to represent the overall and section-wise correct percentages. ResultsOut of the total 800 students, 494 (61.7%) participated in the study. Most of the participants were first-year MBBS students, 158 (32.0%), and were males (280, 56.7%). The average performance regarding the awareness and myth related to COVID-19 was satisfactory, with a 72.5% overall correct mean score. According to modified Bloom's cut-off, 406 (82.2%) students performed moderately, followed by 81 (16.4%) students who performed good, and seven (1.4%) performed poorly. Although the majority 489 (99.0%) knew the correct taxonomy of the virus causing COVID-19, 60.0% and 43.0% had difficulty defining the SARS-CoV-2 virus and close contacts, respectively. There was a drastic variation in response to the physical distancing criteria, with only 71 (14.4 %) answered correctly. Conclusion:As the guidelines regarding COVID-19 are dynamic, there is a need for regular training of undergraduate medical students, focusing on infection control and prevention to keep them updated with the latest and upcoming guidelines.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an ongoing global pandemic that has devastated our globalized economic system. Apart from infecting 12,102,328 human beings and taking a toll of over 551,046 lives globally by the 11th of July 2020, it has fundamentally affected the way we live, work, travel, and relate to each other. Despite imposing early preventive measures, India has crossed a total caseload of 820,916 with a total death of 22,123 till-date, ranking third in the descending list of worst-affected nations. Although comparatively lower, the case fatality rate in India is 2.72% against the global fatality of 4.53%. It is an empirical fact that every process and institution must evolve to meet the needs of its time. A model for categorization of fatality among real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive COVID-19 patients has been developed at Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences (UPUMS), to address the issue of patients being transferred very late in the course of the disease to level-3 facilities. The UPUMS model of categorization of fatalities of COVID-19 patients at level-3 center comprises of category-1 as ‘Institutional COVID-19 fatalities’, category-2 as ‘Imported COVID-19 fatalities’ and category-3 being ‘Imminent with Incidental COVID-19’ fatalities. This endeavor of categorizing COVID-19 fatalities is an opportunity to analyze facts and contemporary science to assess our response to this pandemic and thereby take lessons to prepare better for the future. Following proper analysis, we noted that most of these fatalities (64%) at the higher center are because of delayed referrals hence termed as imported fatalities, which need a modality of early attention and referral. However, there are fatalities which occur because of severe systemic illness like liver failure, cardiovascular accident (CVA), myocardial infarction (MI), etc. They need due treatment at a regional center. These constitute up to 18%. Authors found that actual COVID-19 deaths constitute only 18% of the total projected fatalities.
Background and Objective: The povidone-iodine (PvP-I) nasal antiseptic has been shown to completely inactivate the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro at variable concentrations. This study was performed to investigate the effect of 0.5% PvP-I nasal drops and oral gargles on the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal viral loads in SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. Methods: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial among patients aged ≥18 years with reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction confirmed in the mild to moderate category of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A total of 32 patients were randomly assigned to receive either freshly prepared 0.5% PvP-I solution or distilled water in the form of supervised self-administered 4–5 nasal drops, followed by 20 ml for gargling for at least 30 seconds. The main outcome measure was the mean change in viral titer and Ct values in the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples at baseline, 5 minutes, and 3 hours post intervention. Results: The mean change in viral titers across the time duration for the test group when compared with the control group was not statistically significant ( P = 0.109). However, the mean change in Ct value was found to be borderline statistically significant ( P = 0.042). Noticeable differences were noted among the mean viral titers and Ct values in the intervention group when plotted against the time of testing as compared to the control group. PvP-I solution at 0.5% dilution was well tolerated, and no evident side effects were reported. Conclusions: This study shows that 0.5% PvP-I has an effect on reducing nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal viral loads in COVID-19 patients. This can be of substantial aid for the primary care physicians, especially for the practitioners in remote and resource poor areas.
Background: One of the greatest challenges in the fight against tuberculosis (TB) is the delay in seeking medical care among those who are sick. This can be complemented by delays in providing prompt health-care services. Aims and Objectives: The aims of this study were to estimate the number of patients facing delays and to understand the various reasons for individual and health system delays. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, new sputum positive cases of >18 years registered at the two TB Units of two community health centers of a district in Uttar Pradesh from March 2018 to April 2019 were included. The primary outcome was patient delay and health system delay. They were assessed from patient interviews as well as through records. Results: A total of 120 patients were included in the study of which, 76 had been subjected to one or the other form or a combination of delay. The factors such as age, education level, occupation, socioeconomic condition, and the walking duration to the nearest health center were found to be significantly associated with delay. The patient delay was seen in 37 (30.8%) with median delay of 45 days (interquartile range [IQR] 37–53). The health system delay was observed in 48 (40.0%) patients with median delay of 24.5 days (IQR 12.0–47.2). Conclusion: In spite of robust program implementation, patient factor delays continue to prevail which contributes to the total delay. Addressing delay in Tb is of utmost important so as to progress to TB elimination.
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